


No Rest For The Wicked

by hopal_foropal



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26592025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopal_foropal/pseuds/hopal_foropal
Summary: Lilith never used to have a hard time falling asleep. In fact, she used to be almost too good at it.----------------------------------Just a look at Lilith over the years of her life
Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne
Comments: 4
Kudos: 61





	No Rest For The Wicked

**Author's Note:**

> H! I think this is my first time posting fanfiction since I was 13, and I'm 22 now, so I'm a little rusty.  
> I love morally grey characters, they're so interesting to learn about and explore, and once I had a thought about Lilith coping with the aftermath of what she did, I had to explore it further, which lead to this being written.

Lilith never used to have a hard time falling asleep. In fact, she used to be almost too good at it. She could remember falling asleep against her mother’s back when riding alongside her on her staff, and the way that her father would then carry her to bed when she was very little. In her early years, she and her sister Eda used to share a room together, and her favorite part of the day was when their parents would tuck them in and say good night, only for the two girls to whisper and giggle to each other in the darkness. They’d tell each other stories and joke until they were so tired that their eyes could stay open no longer. On more than one occasion, their parents even found them both in the same bed, usually when the younger of the two was having too many bad dreams, and sought out her older sister for comfort. As they grew older they moved into their own spaces, but Lilith always ended her day resting easy knowing her sister was in the room next door. 

In her teenage years, Lilith could recall the various times her sister Eda had to come find her in the library, only to see that she either fell asleep over a book after she spent an ungodly amount of hours studying for school, or she found her sister resting atop her notes as she worked into the late hours of the night on whatever essay was due next. Then there was also the unfortunate incident when the potions teacher scolded her fall falling asleep in his class, and wouldn’t let her explain that she hadn’t intended to do so! She had just stayed up all night studying so as to ensure she’d pass the exam she had earlier in the day. For months after that Eda wouldn’t let her live down the fact that Lilith got detention and for once it wasn’t because of Eda. 

She also remembers how boring detention was as well. Lilith liked to think she had been a model student, and for the most part she had been, but her own permanent record had some length to it due to her sister dragging her along on one of her many misadventures. The dull and boring hours she spent wasting her time in the detention room when she could’ve been doing something more important were enough to make anyone fall asleep. And she did sleep. Sleeping then meant more time for training later, and besides, it’s not like anyone actually cared how she spent her time in detention if she wasn’t causing any problems. 

When the annual field day was announced, along with coven sign-ups, Lilith grew so excited that she couldn’t sleep. The event was still a month away, but nothing could lessen the enthusiasm the girl had. While she spent all her time preparing, both her mother and sister, when she could spare the time from her own training, worked together to try every draught and brew they could think of just to give the girl some much needed rest, and for the most part it worked. At the very least it settled her nerves enough so that the young witch had just enough energy to keep working towards her goal. When the day before the fair came around, she felt confident, and thrilled to start her new life in the Emperor’s Coven alongside her sister. For the first time in a month she had gotten a good night's sleep. She had no idea that it’d be quite some time before she could do that again

The high of confidence the girl was riding on quickly plummeted when she found out there could only be one new member in the coven, and that she’d have to duel her own sister if she wanted to make it in. She knew a sacrifice had to be made, and she stayed up through that whole night to ensure her win against her sister. She showed up to the duel the next day, tired and anxious, but determined to secure her spot. It wasn’t until her sister refused to duel her, and the curse Lilith casted to ensure her win started to take effect, that the full weight of her actions started to crush her. She wanted to run after her sister, but there was no time between the people cheering her on, and the coven scouts who were leading her away. 

\---------

Over the next few days, her training in the Emperor’s Coven began, but all she could think about was the sight of her sister looking so terrified, turning into some sort of owl beast, and running away. It replayed in her mind at all times of the day, and she vowed to herself that she would do everything that she can until she found a way to heal her sister. No matter how hard she tried, sleep would never come at night when she was reliving that moment over and over again. So she collected every text and scroll she could find on curses and how to break them. Every moment she wasn’t training, she was researching, her own bed becoming a collection of books rather than a place of rest. 

This was okay for a little while, until she started to fall behind in her training. The higher-ups in the coven certainly took notice that the girl that was once their star trainee was no longer focused on the mission she was tasked with. They raided the room they provided for her, and two things became very apparent to them: that this girl was the cause of her sister’s own curse, and that she needed to be taught that her priority should be on the coven. They took away her scrolls and texts, they gave her more and more work to do for them, and they told her the emperor was powerful and if she worked hard enough, he could most certainly help her. With all of her research gone, Lilith threw herself into her work. If the emperor could help her, then she’d do all she could to earn his respect. 

Without spending her time searching for ways to help her sister, however, she was forced to face her own nightmares again. At the beginning, it was her sister’s transformation over and over again. Though as she grew and began to rise within the coven, her nightmares began to take many different forms. From the way others began to look at her in fear, to the one too many punishments she herself faced for failing a mission, and to the wrath she had seen in the emperor’s eyes when he had been displeased with the previous coven leader, her mind had many things to pick from to keep her up at night. Sometimes it was a relief to be haunted by something other than the tragedy that she bestowed upon her sister. 

\-----

When she finally made her way to the top, the emperor made his promise that he would heal her sister on the condition that she must be the one to bring Edalyn in. Her heart sank. She hadn’t faced her sister in almost thirty years. She followed her closely and kept up with every antic and crime she committed, watching her closely, but the two hadn’t even shared a single correspondence with each other since the day Lilith’s naivety pulled the two of them apart. She avoided her assigned task for as long as she could, spending hours awake each night just to plot the moves she’d make to catch her sister instead of actually going after her. 

Soon enough, her procrastination was cut short when she unexpectedly saw a familiar face in the crowds of the covention. She left her presentation surrounded by a swarm of children looking to impress the coven leader, only to clearly see her sister’s face this time. Edalyn looked much older and her hair had lost it’s bright orange color, but she’d recognize those golden eyes and the sound of her laugh anywhere. Lilith went into the conversation with her sister at the beginning of the day anticipating that she may have renounced her wild ways; that perhaps her sister was reconsidering joining a coven! Lilith, however, finished the day thoroughly embarrassed. When she returned home she spent the evening being talked down to by the emperor, and then Kikimora as well, for making a fool of herself and the coven, and for thinking it was even remotely okay to let her sister off the hook for one day. She laid awake that night, and despite the day’s failures, the only focus of her thoughts was just how much her younger sister had aged. 

The next few encounters were similar, leaving Lilith feeling like she brought shame to herself and her coven. But she began to grow fond of each meeting with her sister, and without even realizing it, she started finding ways to bargain with her sister and let her slide from time to time. It was obvious the curse was catching up with her sister, and she didn’t know how much longer she had left. Lilith missed moments like these with Eda; she didn’t want them to end. But as the Day of Unity grew near, and Emperor Belos caught on to her act, the situation began to grow more dire. After another failed attempt, she was thrown into a fit of panic over how he’d react. She couldn’t return to him empty-handed. She was terrified of how angry he’d be with her. Her sister noticed and handed her a ring as a consolation prize. It felt like hope, a peace offering, and the building of a new bridge between the two.

With each defeat adding up, Lilith was beginning to feel like she was walking on eggshells everywhere she went. She didn’t sleep, and not even her mother’s old recipe for a sleeping potion could give her rest anymore. She considered casting a sleep spell on herself, but decided against it as she knew the risk of casting herself into a potential coma far outweighed the advantage of a little bit of manufactured sleep. 

After another raid foiled, this time by that wretched house demon, Lilith was requested to be seen by the emperor. He demanded she have Edalyn by sundown, and his threat hung over her like a storm cloud. Faced with the very real fear that she herself could be covenless and petrified in less than a day, she knew she had to bring her sister to the emperor no matter the cost it took to get her there. A loud noise broke her own train of thought, and after investigating to find, of all things, Eda’s human pet, everything quickly fell perfectly into place for her. She knew exactly what would make Eda come running. 

\--------

She fucked up. The moment her sister arrived already dueling she knew this human child wasn’t just a pet, but she couldn’t back down now. She was full of adrenaline, and fear, and the whole coven was watching her. She couldn’t be a failure again. And then she really messed up. She let the secret slip. But she could still help her sister! Why couldn’t Eda see that? Couldn’t she see that the two of them were the ones bonded by blood. Decisions were made with the human that Lilith would later come to regret immensely, but in that moment it mattered to her except making sure that her sister could finally be okay. And maybe she herself could finally be okay too. With Eda’s magic slipping away, it became clear she would only win another duel with her sister by default, and not by actually besting her. 

She convinced herself that she was the right one. That she dedicated her life to this, and it would all be worth it and they could be a family again now that she had Eda. She was wrong, she was tricked, she had been lied to. She had no time to berate herself for being so unsuspecting of the emperor’s true intentions. When they dragged Eda away, her sister begged her to protect the human. Luz. She’d need to remember that name. The first opportunity she found she went to go look for the child, who, understandably, attacked her on sight. She made a mental note to share with her sister how impressed she was with the girl’s training and skill, if she got the chance. You will get the chance or die trying, she thought to herself. 

Just when matters were settled with the girl, and Lilith thought that they were in the clear, she felt herself restrained, caught by the emperor, and before she knew it, she was face to face with her sister in the holding cell. She resigned herself to whatever fate her sister decided on, but everything went by so fast. Suddenly Eda was taking the petrification for them, and just as soon her sister’s apprentice was freeing them. Her sister told them all to hop on, so she could fly them away to safety. She hesitated, not sure if she deserved even that chance, but like she had done her whole life, she let her fear ultimately decide that she didn’t want to face the coven right now. They made it to safety, and Lilith did the one thing she should have done all along, now bearing half the burden she gave her sister all those years ago. 

As the others started to head inside, Lilith held herself back. She now had no home, no friends, and nowhere to go, but she wouldn’t expect her sister to house her after everything she had done. Moments later as she started to walk towards the woods, she heard a door open and her sister yelled out to her, “I’m still pissed off at you, but I’m not going to make you sleep outside!” She felt herself laugh, and then almost cry, relieved that her sister would be willing to take her in. As she settled down on the couch, realizing how she just threw her whole life out the window for her sister, how she had finally taken the first step of many in mending their broken relationship, the adrenaline wore off and the weeks, months, years even, of exhaustion finally caught up to her. Just for now, for this one night, she was finally able to rest easy and sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I like to imagine that after YBOS they all kind of passed out from exhaustion and slept for hours, only to have to fully realize what they're facing now shortly after the wake up. Also, when I think about Lilith's time in the coven, I imagine it definitely wasn't all great.  
> I love the dynamics between the Clawthornes and might have a few ideas for some other fanfics between them now that I'm writing again, but who knows! Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
